CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Malcolm Hill made sure Illinois didnt step off the gas pedal Friday night so that the Illini could took care of business against Detroit Mercy, 89-69.The senior, who scored 25 points, led his team to a quick start after the intermission, when his team was up 39-30 and it seemed like the Titans would close the gap even more.Im always in an aggressive attack more, but this was one of those games where I needed to start strong in the second half, Hill said.Illinois (4-0) continued its strong start to the season in the opening game of the NIT Season Tip-Off tournament.The Illini had little trouble scoring, shooting 27of 52 from the field and 8 of 19 from 3-point range. Friday marked the second straight game the Illini had difficulty shooting from the free throw line however, finishing 27of 38.Tracy Abrams continued to have a strong return to basketball, scoring 15 points and finishing with four rebounds, including 2 of 3 from 3-point range.Groce knows the importance a balanced offense can have on his team.If you can have a balance of paint touches with that outside shooting, it puts opponents in dilemmas, Groce said.Detroit Mercy (1-2) had trouble keeping up with Illinois fast offensive pace from the start of the game. The Titans never led.Josh McFolley and Jaleel Hogan both led the way with 16 points for a team that finished shooting 43 percent from the field and 24 percent from beyond the arc.The Titans fell behind in most categories against the Illini, but Detroit Mercy head coach Bacari Alexander felt Illinois won the game down in the post, where the Illini won the rebound battle 39-29.They took advantage of those opportunities (in the post), Alexander said. (But) I like the direction this team is going in.BIG PICTUREIllinois: The Illini have played as they should against the type of opponents theyve faced so far this year. The team has one game left against relatively easy competition before facing No. 19 West Virginia at the Barclays Center in New York.Detroit Mercy: Although the game was never really close after the first few minutes, the Titans found some scoring opportunities and will need to continue to do that in the rest of the tournament.ROLE PLAYERGroce thought bench player D.J. Williams had his best overall performance of the year. The sophomore wing scored six points.LETDOWNAfter a strong start to the season, center Maverick Morgan had his worst night of the season, finishing with six points and zero rebounds and fouling out with more than five minutes left in the game.UP NEXTIllinois will continue play in the NIT Season Tip-Off tournament when it hosts Winthrop in Champaign on Monday.Detroit Mercy will try to bounce back Monday when it travels to Florida State to play its second game in the NIT Season Tip-Off.---More AP college basketball: http://collegebasketball.ap.orgDarrel Williams Super Bowl Jersey . Numbers Game looks into the Canadiens securing the services of Thomas Vanek in a trade with the New York Islanders. The Canadiens Get: LW Thomas Vanek and a conditional fifth-round pick. Eric Fisher Super Bowl Jersey . Any real chance at payback wont come until the playoff. Still, Pittsburgh knows its taut 3-2 win over the Bruins on Wednesday night is a pretty good place to start laying the groundwork. "They are a very good defensive team," Penguins forward Brandon Sutter said. http://www.thechiefsshoponline.com/Youth-Joe-Montana-Chiefs-Jersey/ . Bradwell was scheduled to become a free agent Tuesday. Born and raised in Toronto, Bradwell is entering his sixth CFL season, with all six played for his hometown Argonauts. Charvarius Ward Super Bowl Jersey .2 billion agreement with Rogers Communications for the leagues broadcast and multimedia rights. Armani Watts Super Bowl Jersey . -- Jimmie Johnson held off a teammate, passed a pair of Hall of Famers, and dominated once more at Dover. The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) has notified the UFC of a second failed drug test submitted by former heavyweight champion and WWE star Brock Lesnar.UFC officials were informed Tuesday that Lesnar, 39, failed a fight night drug test at UFC 200 on July 9 in Las Vegas. Results showed the presence of the same unidentified banned substance Lesnar tested positive for on June 28.The substance that Lesnar tested positive for hasnt been officially identified, but a source told ESPN that the flagged substance is clomiphene, the same anti-estrogen blocker for which Jon Jones tested positive.Neither of those test results was available to the promotion on July 9, which is how Lesnar (6-3) was still able to fight Mark Hunt at T-Mobile Arena. Lesnar won the fight via unanimous decision.Lesnar, who is still under contract with the WWE and came out of retirement to face Hunt earlier this month, has not said much on the initial June 28 test. He told The Associated Press last week, We will get to the bottom of this.His appearance at UFC 200 marked Lesnars first professional fight since December 2011. His financial purse, as reported to the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC), was $2.5 million.Under the UFCs anti-doping program, which went into effect in July 2015, results management and adjudication of the case falls to USADA, although Lesnar will also be subject to the jurisdiction of the NSAC. The UFC and NSAC withhold the right to fine and suspend Lesnar, in the result of a confirmed doping violation. Lesnar has not publicly disclosed whether he intends to have his B-samples tested.It is important to note that, under the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, there is a full fair legal review process that is afforded to all athletes before anyy sanctions are imposed, UFC said in a statement.dddddddddddd. The Nevada State Athletic Commission also retains jurisdiction over this matter as the sample collection was performed at UFC 200 in Las Vegas.Consistent with all previous potential anti-doping violations, additional information will be provided at the appropriate time as the process moves forward.Hunt (12-11-1) was furious following news of Lesnars first potential doping violation. Late last week, the 42-year-old demanded Lesnars entire paycheck in a social media post. Hunts reported purse was $700,000.Lesnar, a former NCAA wrestling champion and two-time defending UFC champion, had never tested positive for a banned substance before the June 28 out-of-competition test. The UFCs anti-doping program requires any retired fighter be subject to a four-month testing window prior to resuming competition; however, the UFC elected to waive that requirement for Lesnar, whose fight against Hunt was announced one month prior to UFC 200.According to the USADA website, Lesnar submitted eight total samples to the anti-doping agency. USADA official Ryan Madden previously confirmed to ESPN that Lesnar had submitted multiple test samples before June 28 and that each came back clean.When asked about performance-enhancing drugs during an international conference call earlier this month, Lesnar responded: Im a white boy and Im jacked. Deal with it.Pending a successful appeal to the July 9 test, Lesnars victory against Hunt will likely change to a no-contest. Following his successful return at UFC 200, Lesnar had not indicated whether he wished to fight again. ' ' '